


Things Are Made To Be Broken

by CharlieInCharge



Category: Agron/Nasir - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2014-12-28
Packaged: 2018-02-06 08:29:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1851364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlieInCharge/pseuds/CharlieInCharge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I wanted to write a little Nasir whump. Sue me. It doesn't go in too deep about dark times with Nasir, it's more of an exploration of getting over a traumatic situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

PROLOGUE 

When Nasir starts to wake up, it’s because something wet is repeatedly brushing against his face. He hears something that sounds like a dog barking, yet, the noise is muffled like it’s reaching his ears from miles away. 

As he becomes more aware of himself, he can distantly feel the rocks digging into his back and the water moving across his legs. The thing that stands out the most, though, is the cold that’s so encompassing it feels as though it has seeped into his bones. He’s freezing, and yet he doesn’t even have the energy to shiver.

What Nasir isn’t aware of is the pain or the murky red color of the water that flows from where his lower-half is submerged. As Nasir becomes more aware of the waking world the pain makes itself more and more known. 

As he slowly opens his eyes, the memories of dark and cold and hurt flood back into Nasir’s mind as though a dam has broken around his thoughts. For a moment, he relives the torture that has been a part of his life for an unknown amount of time. The dark-skinned boy whose color has faded due to going too long without seeing the sun thinks that maybe he was better off in the world of dreams. His eyes close again and blackness is all he knows.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THREE WEEKS BEFORE

Another face of another missing teenager flashes on the news. That’s what, four, five that have disappeared? The news people are saying something about how this kid will probably be found dead in a ditch with distinct signs of torture, just like the others. Ten days. That’s how long this guy keeps them. He tortures these teenagers and then, when they’ve endured this living hell for 10 days he slits their throat and dumps them in a ditch like they’re trash. 

Nasir can vaguely hear his mother comment to his father about how horrible all these kidnappings are, but his mind isn’t on the news or this man who's terrorizing people all throughout Utah and Colorado (Colorado is Nasir’s current home state but evil serial killer guy hasn’t made an appearance anywhere near Boulder so he’s not too worried). 

His mind is on Agron.

As it has been for five days. 

Things had been going so great. Shy, quiet Nasir had been brought out of his shell by fiery, compassionate Agron. Agron was the perfect boyfriend and his friends were Nasir’s friends so they were constantly around one another. Even Nasir’s parents, who were at first hesitant about the whole “gay thing” had come to love Agron for his wit and that stupid, too-bright smile that was accompanied by his stupid, too-cute dimples. 

A part of Nasir wanted to hate Agron, but Agron isn’t a person you can really hate. Maybe be angry at but hate is nearly impossible. 

Nasir was used to moving around a lot and distancing himself from others, but his father had promised that they’d stay in one place while Nasir completed high school. So when he’d arrived at Carter High he’d met Naevia and Mira right off and, instead of being his usual stand-offish self, he’d been as outgoing as he knew how and the three of them had been almost inseparable ever since. By being friends with them, he was introduced to their friend group. 

He’d immediately liked Spartacus; the de facto leader of the group and Mira’s boyfriend. He was charming and welcoming and since he’d taken an immediate liking to Nasir as well, everyone welcomed the “little new kid (Nasir hated this nickname but at the time had decided he would protest it later when he wasn’t the new kid anymore)” into their gang of friends. 

It was in this group of people he’d met Agron.

At first, Nasir was hesitant around Agron, more hesitant than around anyone else. Agron was everything he was not. Tall, boisterous, athletic and incredibly good looking. Agron could be intimidating. When he met Nasir on the second day of school of Freshman year, Nasir had smiled shyly at him and been answered with Agron’s big, bright smile that made butterflies go crazy in the smaller man’s stomach. What he hadn’t known was that butterflies had erupted in Agron’s stomach too, and continued to do so every time he was around Nasir. However, all throughout ninth grade, Agron had a serious boyfriend and it took him until the very end of the school year to realize he was in love with the small, dark skinned kid with long, black hair that Agron just wanted to put his hands in and pull. 

Agron came to Nasir’s house after the last day of school of Freshman year, asked to be his boyfriend, and from there it was a happy and easy romance. Nasir and Agron were already in love, already best friends and already incredibly attracted to one another. They were each others best friends first and boyfriends second. For the next year and a half their relationship was one anyone would be envious of. 

In the middle of their Junior year, Castus showed up. Castus was charming and funny and Nasir felt bad for the new kid, having been one so many times himself. Nasir was more than happy to be friends with the mischievous dark skinned (darker than Nasir at least) man - Castus and Nasir had a lot in common - yet Castus made it known early on that friendship was not all he was hoping for. He flirted and made suggestive comments endlessly. Nasir easily brushed them off. Agron did not. 

It took only a few months for Castus to drive a wedge between the two of them. The couple who’d had their biggest fight over crunchy vs. smooth peanut butter (an “agree to disagree” resolution was reached within the day) was suddenly screaming at each other about trust and picking better friends. 

They spent a perfect Junior year spring break together on the beach in Florida with a crappy rental house and all of their friends (Castus not included). Less than two weeks later they’d broken up. Nasir had gone to Castus’s house to play video games and hang out and had ended up falling asleep on the couch. Agron found out and accused him of cheating. After screaming and tears, the year-and-a-half relationship was over. 

That was five days ago. Five days ago he broke up with the man he pictured spending the rest of his life with. Nasir didn’t sit and fantasize about a wedding or anything romantic, it’s just that whenever Nasir thought about college or what came after that he just assumed Agron would be by his side. Now he felt like a piece of his heart was missing and he was as angry as he was devastated. If Agron were to come to him now and beg to go back to the way things were before Castus, Nasir would have to refuse. Agron had shown that he didn’t trust Nasir to be faithful, and in doing so Nasir lost his trust in Agron. A lot of time and rebuilding of bridges would have to happen for their relationship to get back to what it was. 

Nasir was shaken out of his thoughts by a text from Chadara, his friend from a previous city who’d recently moved to a town that was only an hour and a half away from Boulder. 

“Hey loser. Get off the couch and stop sulking. Meet halfway for pizza?”

Nasir smiled for the first time in days at her message and her crude sense of humor. Normally he’d only see her on the weekends since they didn’t live that close to each other… But if they met halfway he’d only have to drive 45 minutes to get there and to be honest he could really use the pick-me-up. Chadara had a way of making him laugh no matter what the situation. 

“Hey, can I go grab pizza with Chadara?” Nasir asks without even looking up from his phone.

His parents and younger sister all turn to look at him. They’d just eaten dinner and normally Nasir and Chadara didn’t get together during the week. His mother would’ve protested normally but she knew how hard the breakup with Agron had been on her son so instead, she put on her best smile and said, “Of course! Just be back before midnight! You still have school tomorrow.”

By the time Nasir had thanked his parents for letting him go he was already halfway out the door. He loved his family but they’d been handling him with kiddy gloves since the breakup and it drove Nasir crazy.

He slipped in his car, shot Chadara a text about where to meet, and drove off. 

Halfway to meeting Chadara, Nasir’s car died. He was on one of those windy, sort-of country roads that weren’t too terribly busy on a Tuesday night at 7:30. When a stranger pulled over to help, Nasir didn’t think twice; people around here helped each other and this guy seemed nice and normal enough. He didn’t know how wrong he was. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two hours later, without hearing from her friend and with a sinking feeling in her stomach, Chadara called her mom - a cop. An hour later Nasir’s car was found. It had been driven off the road and a little ways into the nearby forest. His parents were notified, an amber alert was issued, and the hunt for Nasir Rahim was on.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nasir is found. Time to start dealing with what happened.

The thing that keeps driving Agron crazy is the speculation. The psycho who’s been killing teenagers for months now has Nasir and people are asking questions?!? People started mentioning that when Nasir went missing, another kid had already been taken two days prior. This killer, whoever he was, had never taken more than one person before. Also, this killer keeps his victims for ten days and then dumps their bodies in a place where they’ll be easily found. Nasir has been gone for three weeks. They’ve started talking like Nasir ran away. Like he pulled an extended Ferris Bueller and just took off, leaving everything behind him. 

He’s not someone to just bolt. He’s out there scared and in pain and they’re questioning the circumstances surrounding his disappearance!?

Agron’s at the gym working out (he goes there a lot these days to work out his frustration and terror at the thought of never seeing Nasir again) when he gets the news. 

Crixus bursts in a very dramatic fashion, brushes past the lady at the front desk who tells him he has to have a membership to go into the gym, and locks eyes with Agron who has been watching his very noticeable entrance. 

“Answer your goddamn phone!” Crixus is exasperated and rushed and… something else.

“What’s going on?” The last thing Agron wants right now is more bad news. Whatever’s happened, he just wants to finish his workout before he has to deal with anything more.

“They’ve found him! He’s alive!” Crixus doesn’t need to say who, Agron just knows. His heart, which he swears hasn’t beat at all for three weeks, is suddenly racing a mile a minute. He has thirty thousand questions and he wants the answers to them all right now. 

Nasir is alive. 

Agron starts to ask the beginning of his endless questions, but Crixus cuts him off, “He’s in the hospital. Let’s go.”

Nasir is alive. 

Agron doesn’t ask Crixus any of his questions. When they get in the car, news of Nasir is on the radio. He was found on the shore of a river by a dad who was out fishing with his sons. He had obviously endured a lot of torture. His condition is similar to that of the other teenagers except for the obvious fact that, unlike the others, he’s alive. He’s currently in Boulder Memorial Hospital. Agron hangs on every word the radio reporters are saying. 

Nasir is alive. Even with the noise of the radio, the sounds of cars passing, Crixus mumbling a few things, the three words “Nasir is alive” play through Agron’s mind over and over. 

Sometimes they’re a question. Is this real? Has Nasir really been returned to him despite all odds? Is he actually alive or is this some cruel joke?

Sometimes it’s just a fact. Nasir is alive. His heart is still beating. 

Mostly though, it’s pure relief. Those three words in Agron’s head take a weight off his chest that for three weeks has been threatening to crush him. They’re on constant repeat even as they pull up to the hospital and go through the sliding doors. 

Agron must’ve been dead last to find out about Nasir because everyone is here. Nasir’s parents and sister are curled up in one corner of what must be Nasir’s own private waiting room along with a girl that Agron has met once. She’s Nasir’s friend from another town. Agron thinks her name starts with a C or something. Spartacus is standing not too far away from the family with both Mira and Naevia tucked in close to his body. He whispers something in Naevia’s ear as Agron and Crixus walk in and the fiery, dark-skinned girl turns around and runs into Crixus’ muscular arms. Duro smiles and nods at Agron as he walks in and Agron goes to stand by him and his girlfriend, Kore. Donar and Lugo are talking to each other quietly. Both have girlfriends but they’re not as close with Nasir so it makes since they wouldn't come. Even Gannicus, always carefree, always laughing Gannicus is sitting with a blank look on his face and his arm around Saxa. They all love Nasir and just because he’s been found doesn’t mean he’s okay. 

It’s been three weeks of nothing but confusion and questions for all of them and now that they’re getting answers, they’re not actually sure if they want to know them. 

They sit there for hours. There’s small chatter but no one has much to say. At one point Nasir’s father addresses all the teenagers gathered to hear about their friend and thanks them for being there for his son.

As if they’d be anywhere else.

When he stands there thanking them all, Agron can’t help but wonder if this is worse for Nasir’s family. What must it be like to be a mother, a father that has no control over what happens to their son? Nasir has been hurt physically, but the mental torture endured by his family while he was gone must be a pain all of its own. It’s a pain that Agron thinks he’s been sharing with them for these past weeks because Agron doesn’t know how anything could be any worse than how he’s been feeling. 

A few hours pass before a doctor, who looks nearly as tired as the group in the waiting room, approaches his patients’ friends and family. Nasir’s family stands up so quickly that it makes Agron’s head spin. Agron stands also and so does everyone in that waiting room. 

Agron’s begging that the doctor will just tell them all what’s going on with Nasir. Damn the “only tell family” rule of hospitals, if this isn’t a special circumstance he doesn’t know what is. 

The doctor addresses Nasir’s family only when he approaches the waiting room, “Do you want to step over here and I can update you on your son's condition?”

Agron want’s to open his mouth and scream at him to just say what he’s going to say but he never gets the chance.

“No. They deserve to know about Nasir also,” Nasir’s father says firmly. Agron wants to shake Nasir’s fathers hand. Or hug the man. But he contains his gratitude. If he does anything now it’ll be that much longer before he hears about Nasir.

The doctor looks at the younger members of the group skeptically. “I don’t think I need to say this but anything I say is confidential.”

He makes eye contact with everyone and Agron feels uncomfortable in his gaze. He gets where the doc is coming from though. There’s about fifty reporters outside all begging to get news on the boy who managed to escape this maniac.

After his scrutiny, the doctor sighs and collects himself before rattling off Nasir’s lengthy injury list. “Let me just say that Nasir is a living miracle. The dirt and scratches on his feet indicate that he ran away from his captor before he jumped from some ledge into the stream where he was later found which is incredible with his injuries. Nasir has contusions and bruises covering nearly 90% of his body. He has four broken fingers, a broken wrist and a broken elbow. Both the wrist and elbow will need surgery. He also needs surgery to repair ligaments in his knee. He has stress fractures to both heels and a stress fracture to his tibia. Nasir was stabbed with a small-bladed instrument twelve times in his lower abdomen and upper thighs. Those wounds were cauterized by his captor. I stopped his internal bleeding but he has bruising to his liver and kidneys that will need to be closely monitored. His lungs show signs of water damage. This coupled with his five broken ribs lead me to believe he was drowned and resuscitated multiple times. He’s going to be on a ventilator for a few days to help his lungs out.”

The doctor takes a breath and gives Nasir’s parents a sad look. Throughout his list of Nasir’s injuries, Nasir’s mom has started sobbing and his father is the only thing that’s prevented her from sinking to the floor. 

Agron’s thinking to himself that the doctor can’t have any more injuries to list off when the man takes a breath and continues to speak.

“Nasir has a severe concussion and there’s trauma to the spine. We won’t know the extent of these injuries until he wakes up. He may suffer from memory loss or loss or weakened use of his legs. He’s going to be in surgery for a few more hours while they work on his arm, knee and place pins in his spine. After surgery I’d like to tell you he’s out of the woods, however, for the next 72 hours he’s at an increased risk of developing pneumonia or suffering from complications from surgery. If…” the doctor stutters for a moment on his words and looks at Nasir’s already devastated mother, “When he wakes up he’ll have a long road to recovery ahead of him.”

Agron can hear Nasir’s father thanking the doctor and asking when he can see his son but a buzzing has started in Agron’s head that only gets louder with each passing second. Now that he’s heard Nasir’s injuries this has all become real to him. Nasir was hurt. Again and again he was hurt and he may not recover from that.

“You’re as white as a sheet, Bruder.” Duro’s gentle voice snaps Agron out of his own head and he lets Duro take his arm and direct him into the nearest chair. 

Crixus has a softly crying Naevia tucked against him but his attention is all on Agron as he says the words that Agron needs to hear. “It looks bad but if the little man fought to survive this long he won’t give up now. He’s always been stronger that any of us gave him credit for. He surprised me with his strength and resolve time and time again.”

Naevia turns her head against Crixus’ chest to look at Agron and she nods in agreement with what her boyfriend has said. “He’s tough,” she whispers more to herself than to Agron. 

Agron is grateful to them both. He needed to hear that. It’s comforting to know that he’s surrounded by people that are convince Nasir will pull through this. 

Crixus is a man of few words, but when he does talk his words mean something. 

Everyone in the waiting room nods in agreement to the mans words. Then they sit down and prepare for more hours of waiting for Nasir to get out of surgery.

After a while, another doctor comes out and says Nasir is out of surgery but can’t have visitors right now.

Police arrive to stand outside Nasir’s door since the man who hurt him still hasn’t been caught.

Nasir’s dad says they should go home and get some sleep. No one leaves.


	3. Chapter 3

The cops begin searching areas surrounding the river Nasir was found in immediately. Every home and cabin in the area receives a thorough look through. 

The cops almost miss one cabin. It’s not on any maps. There are no building permits or any proof that the land it is built on belongs to anyone. If it wasn’t for the police dogs, they may have never found the little cabin tucked against a steep hill. 

When they enter the house, they all know instantly that this is the place they’ve been searching for for three days. There’s dried blood literally everywhere. 

As they open the door to the basement, the stench of death hits them like a train. Some turn around right then and go back outside to get fresh air. The remaining few descend into the horrors that await. 

They’re met with more blood, more instruments of torture than they can count, and there, thrown into the corner like he wasn’t worth a final thought is Riley Smith; the boy that went missing shortly before Nasir. 

The stench and the horrible sight of the dead boy now staring off into nothingness drives the few cops who made it to the basement out. 

No one has the courage or desire to go back in that house for quite some time. 

The arrival of forensic analysts (who come all too soon if you ask the cops) forces law enforcement back into the house of blood and pain and death. In the house they find more than enough DNA to tie one man - Thomas Horn of Copper, Arizona - to the scene.

In record time, his face is on every media outlet known to man. For the first time, the parents and friends of seven teenagers see the face of the man that has forever changed their lives.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The news that the cops have found the other boy dead is yet another blow to an already beaten Agron. His mind can’t seem to get over the fact that that dead kid could’ve easily been Nasir. It almost was Nasir.

It’s day five of Nasir’s unknown period of recovery and he has yet to wake up. A flutter of the eyes, a twitch of the hand is all Agron’s asking for. Something, anything to let him know that Nasir is still in there somewhere. Never before have silence and stillness been so disheartening.

Yesterday one of the doctors had the nerve to mention that Nasir may never wake up. It’s honestly a miracle that both Spartacus and Crixus had been with Agron when the doctor had said that because otherwise the doctor may have been the one that never woke up. 

Everyone else comes and goes in shifts. Someone will come and sit with Nasir for a few hours and then leave when another person comes to take their place on the uncomfortable hospital chairs. Only Nasir’s family has been allowed to stay with the sleeping teenager past visiting hours. Agron has no idea how, but Nasir’s parents somehow got him on the family list so he can stay when everyone else gets kicked out. Agron will forever be grateful to them for doing that.

Agron has yet to leave since he first arrived on the day Nasir was found. He can’t stand to think that Nasir might wake up and he won’t be there with him. He’s convinced he will be present in Nasir’s every waking moment from now on. He refuses to miss another moment with Nasir.

He didn’t protect Nasir the first time. If they hadn’t broken up, Nasir never would’ve been kidnapped.

Agron won’t fail him again.

The doctors have said that Nasir is no longer in serious danger of infection; his immune system is doing quite well despite how exhausted his body is. They even took him off the ventilator. 

Physically, Nasir is doing well considering the circumstances. Mentally, Agron is terrified of what Nasir will be like after everything he’s been through.

Nasir has always been incredibly strong. But will strength be enough to get him through something like this? That question and other doubts haunt Agron even after he closes his eyes and succums to sleep in the few hours of rest he manages to grab here and there.

He keeps telling himself to just be positive but it’s hard when he looks at Nasir. There’s something about seeing someone on a hospital bed that just makes them look small and vulnerable. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Nasir wakes up this time it’s because something is beeping and even his tired brain thinks it’s annoying as shit. It’s not even that loud it’s just this constant noise that’s making it impossible to sleep at the moment.

Is that his alarm clock going off? That doesn’t sound like his alarm...

It takes him a long time to surface from under a fog that feels as thick as the quilt his grandmother gave him last Christmas and become aware of his surroundings. He opens his eyes for the first time in almost six days and the first thing he sees is an ugly, grey ceiling. 

It’s a beautiful sight.

Even with the copious amounts of drugs pumping through his system, Nasir remembers (all too vividly) what he’s gone through these past couple of weeks. He has the sight of the ceiling he’d stare at when he couldn’t bear to look anywhere else committed to memory. This is not that ceiling. 

He’s not being hurt anymore. He got away and that’s an amazing feeling.

“Nasir? Nasir are you awake?” He can hear the excitement and panic in his mother’s hushed voice and when he, very painfully, turns his head she lets out a noise that’s half sob and half sigh of relief. 

She stands up and gets to his side so quickly that it makes his head spin a little. He has to close his eyes for a second and let the world settle again.

He feels his mother gently stroke his face and hair and hears the words “My baby, my sweet baby,” repeated over and over. He opens his eyes again and does his best to put a smile on his face. His brain hasn’t caught up yet and he’s pretty sure he’s not smiling. There’s no telling what his face looks like right now but his mother is so happy to see his eyes open that he thinks for now, by just waking up, he’s done enough.

He looks past his mother to see both his father and Agron’s huge frame awkwardly fitted into a few hospital chairs. He feels pain and doesn’t know if it’s from his injuries or sympathy pain for his father and Agron who are most definitely going to be sore when they wake up from sleeping in those positions. 

He realizes he’s tuned out his mother’s words when he hears his name spoken a little louder and said a little more forcefully than she’d been speaking before. His eyes snap back up to hers and again he feels like the whole world is tilting. Quick movements are not his friend right now. Black swims into his vision but he can hear his mother say that’s she’s going to get the doctor. 

She quickly walks over to Nasir’s father, shakes him (a little harder than necessary), and then slips out of the room. Nasir thinks she may have said something to him as he left and he’s pretty sure he missed some of his parents movements but right now he’s focusing his energy on keeping the black dots from pulling him back under. He’s not ready to go back to sleep.

His father wakes Agron and while Agron pushes the last bits of sleep away, the older man makes his way to his son.

Nasir has never seen his father cry. His father is the definition of stoic and in control of his emotions in difficult situations. Yet, as he stands above his son and envelops one of Nasir’s hands in both of his, Nasir can see the tears that form in his eyes. 

“It’s so good to see you awake, son.” His voice cracks on the last words and Nasir can’t help but feel a little guilty. He in no way wanted what happened to him to happen, but it did and his parents had to deal with the possibility of never seeing their child again. Nasir would give anything to take the pain of these past weeks away from his family. 

“It’s good to see you too.” Nasir’s own voice is rough and foreign to him and there’s a possibility he didn’t even say all of those words. He may have just croaked. His body really isn’t doing what he wants it to. It hurts a lot to talk (or try to talk which may be the case for Nasir), but if he can bring his father even an ounce of comfort right now he’ll try his best. 

His father smiles a tearful smile as Agron comes to stand by Nasir’s feet. Just then, the doctor comes into the room with his mother in hot pursuit. 

Nasir finds the energy to smile at Agron who quickly returns a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes and doesn’t show off his beautiful dimples before the doctor is asking him question after question. The drugs and pure exhaustion from everything he’s been through rear up again when the questions start coming. Nasir honestly doesn’t even know what his answers are or if they even make sense. Somewhere in there Nasir gets ice chips to soothe his throat and he thinks he eats a few but he’s not really sure.

The doctor smiles at him and stops asking questions and Nasir has never been so grateful for someone to stop talking. He looks back up at the ceiling and that’s the last thing he sees before his eyes are closed and the blackness pulls him under again.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Nasir returns to blissful sleep, his parents and Agron turn to the doctor and all three are anxiously asking questions and even more anxiously awaiting answers. 

The doctor motions them to step outside and they follow him through the sliding doors.

“His vital signs are good, he was obviously a little incoherent when I was asking him questions but all in all I think he’s doing surprisingly well. Even though we could all see he was struggling to stay awake and struggling even more to answer my questions, I can see no indication of brain damage. He’s healing faster than we could’ve ever hoped for. It’ll be another day or two before he fully wakes up and becomes aware of what’s happened but that’s perfectly normal. If he’s doing this well, he’ll be up and outta here in no time.”

Nasir had woken up. And had even smiled at him. Agron doesn’t think he’s ever been this happy in his life. It’s a sentiment clearly shared by Nasir’s parents because the second the doctor walks away, they crash into each other and hold each other while tears, previously born of fear and uncertainty, now born of an almost crushing relief, pour out.

Agron doesn’t know how long he stands there and just allows himself to feel elated for the first time in a month but it’s long enough for Nasir’s mom to get herself together enough to go to Agron and he suddenly finds himself in a surprisingly firm hug. 

He didn’t realize how much he missed contact like this. He buries his head in her shoulder and they stand like that, sharing mutual space and a mutual gratitude to any and every God that’s out there that Nasir is back in their lives and is healing well, for a long time. 

Agron pulls away after what feels like forever and sends a quick text to the group text chain that includes him, Duro, Spartacus, Crixus, Gannicus, Donar, Lugo, Saxa, Naevia and Mira updating them all on Nasir’s condition. 

His phone is soon buzzing non stop as “Thank God’s” and more questions about how Nasir seemed roll in. He doesn’t look at his phone for some time though. 

He goes back into Nasir’s room and sits next to his bed. Nasir doesn’t look quite so small anymore.

The fire of hope that’s been trying to ignite for days, the one that’s filled with longing and prayers for Nasir to come out of this okay flares up so strongly in Agron’s chest that he’s afraid if it’s extinguished his will to go on may die with the fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this is the last of the setup or whatever you want to call it. In the next chapter we'll skip a little bit and Nasir will be getting out of the hospital and trying to deal with everything.
> 
> As always- let me know what you think and thanks for reading :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! Let me know what you think!

After the astounding progress Nasir has been making, Agron doesn’t know why he keeps being surprised by the smaller man’s strength.

This past week Nasir has been nothing but determined. Determined to heal, determined to get out of the hospital and determined not to let his experiences crush him. 

Agron has yet to see Nasir cry or break down. When the cops questioned him about his time with Thomas Horn, Nasir had quietly asked his parents and Agron to leave. It killed Agron that Nasir would not let him be there for him, yet he knew that this was something Nasir believed he had to do on his own. Whenever Agron allowed himself to steal glances into Nasir’s hospital room during the police questioning, he saw Nasir, sitting up as straight as he could with that same look of determination on his face as he answered question after question. 

Agron had never been so proud of anyone before in his life.

Agron knows Nasir still feels the weight of what happened to him, how could he not? Some nights, when Nasir thinks Agron and his parents are asleep, he’ll allow his posture to slump and the physical and mental exhaustion show. In those moments, he allows himself to feel fragile for only a little while. 

The fact that Thomas Horn has still not been caught is always in the back of Agron’s mind. Agron knows it scares Nasir too. Agron is in a constant state of wanting to scream at the cops for not doing their jobs, for not protecting Nasir and other kids who could be hurt because of this man. He knows they’re doing their best. It still doesn’t feel like that’s enough. 

Whenever the name Thomas Horn is mentioned, Agron can see Nasir shrink in on himself a little before he catches himself and goes back to putting on the strong face. Agron is proud of Nasir for being strong and stubborn. He also wishes Nasir would feel comfortable enough around him to show some weakness. 

One day, when Nasir’s parents weren’t in the room Nasir had looked at Agron with something in his eyes Agron couldn’t decipher. He had always been able to read the smaller man. And Nasir had always been able to read Agron. But this look was something unfathomable to Agron.

“I think Thomas Horn has a partner.” 

The look on Nasir’s face was so confused and hurt that Agron was at a loss for what to say or do. 

“What?”

It took Agron a few seconds to realize he had been the one that had spoken that word. The fact that someone else had hurt Nasir sent Agron’s mind in a thousand different directions. 

“Did you see someone else when you were… with him?” Agron had no idea how to phrase the question or if that was even the right thing to say in that moment and he couldn’t help but flinch a bit at his poor word choice.

“No…” Nasir looks out the window and Agron thought that he might be done talking for awhile just as Nasir starts to speak again. “Sometimes he’d put a blindfold on me. Every few days or so he’d do it and it would stay on for hours. He’d hurt me like he always did but I’d feel like someone else was in that room… Just watching…”

“Did you tell the cops?”

“Yeah but there’s no evidence of anyone else… Probably just my imagination.” Even as Nasir says the words, Agron can tell he doesn’t really believe them. 

After that,, Nasir refused to speak anymore about the other man. He would brush the subject away like it was no big deal and without anyone else thinking there was a second killer, Agron tried to let the subject drop, but Nasir’s words echoed in his mind for weeks.

After two weeks of Nasir being in the hospital, and two weeks of Agron sitting by his side after school until one of the nurses kicks him out or they take pity and let him sleep (curled up in the hospital chairs that Agron has become all too familiar with in a very uncomfortable position) in Nasir’s hospital room, Nasir is finally well enough to go home.

The doctor still thinks Nasir should remain under his care for another week or so, and Nasir’s parents are hesitant to go against the doctors wishes, yet when Nasir states that he’s been away from home for too long, they reluctantly cave and agree to take their son home. Agron skips school that day so he can be there to help Nasir with whatever he may need when he finally gets back to the Rahim household. Nasir tells Agron that he needs to stop spending so much time with him and get back to his life. Agron smiles and lets his little man know that as long as Nasir needs him around, he’ll be there, whether Nasir wants him or not.

The only thing that threatens to ruin Nasir’s coming home day is when he asks about Riley Smith.

Nasir still doesn’t know he’s dead.

Neither Agron nor Nasir’s parents had the heart to tell him. They all feared how Nasir would react. After him doing so well and coming through what had happened to him so incredibly, they were all secretly waiting for the other shoe to drop. Deep down they feared the news of the death of Riley would be the thing that would throw Nasir into a crippling depression or a fierce rage at what had been done to him. Anytime new information came to light, they all worried that this would be the thing that would overturn all of Nasir’s resolve. 

So when Nasir asks about Riley and when he’ll be getting out of the hospital, Agron and Mr. Rahim freeze midway through helping Nasir into the wheelchair. They share a look behind Nasir’s shoulders and there’s a mix of reluctance, terror and a thousand other emotions clear on both their faces.

“I haven’t checked on him lately what with you getting out and everything. We’ll have to ask the doctor later.” Nasir’s mother doesn’t miss a beat. She doesn’t meet her son's eyes as she lies to his face. She’s practiced this lie before. She lost her son once only to have him given back to her. She refuses to let anything, even if “anything” is information, that may hurt her son again anywhere near him. If she has to lie about Riley Smith for the rest of her life to spare her son pain, she’ll do it.

Agron and Mr. Rahim do their best to cover their temporary freeze up and they end up overcompensating and dumping Nasir into the wheelchair more than easing him into it. He flinches, they feel terrible and try to apologize, but Nasir stops them before the word “sorry” can even leave either of their mouths. He’s felt worse pain. This hospital is a constant reminder of his pain and nothing is going to keep him from leaving this building today. 

Agron moves behind Nasir and begins pushing him out of the room that’s been Nasir’s home away from home for the past fifteen days. They’re both happy to be leaving it.

The two older Rahim’s walk on either side of their son as he’s pushed (at what Nasir annoyingly calls snail speed and Agron pretends not to listen) out of the hospital and to their waiting car. Nasir’s mother chatters to him the whole way from the second he leaves the room to the driveway of their home about how Natasha (his little sister) is doing and updating him on the latest neighborhood gossip. Agron watches Nasir nod along and do his best to seem invested in what his mother says, but Agron can see how exhausted and uninterested Nasir truly is. 

The second they get in the car, Agron sits in the back with Nasir and takes his hand in his own. Nasir gives his one of his tired-yet-grateful smiles Agron has seen a lot of lately and grips Agron’s hand more firmly than the taller man expected him to. 

He really should stop being so surprised by the smaller mans strength after everything.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When they do get to the Rahim house and maneuver Nasir back into the wheelchair that he insists he doesn’t need, Natasha bursts through the front door and hugs her brother with a firm-yet-light squeeze, careful to avoid all of his casts and slings. 

Nasir hugs her back with all the energy he can produce. He’s always been close with his sister. Both her and the house are very welcome sights.

Natasha is followed by a man that Nasir barely knows. It’s his uncle, yet the man hardly ever shows up to family events and when he does show up Nasir doesn’t exactly go out of his way to have discussions with the man. Nasir’s mom has told him that her brother has stepped up and helped them out a lot while Nasir has been in the hospital, but it’s still weird to Nasir that this man that he barely knows is staying in his house. Nasir’s uncle is followed out by yet another man. 

His pale skin and blue eyes are a clear indication that he is in no way related to the family. He’s one of four officers that have been assigned to Nasir while Thomas Horn remains in the wind. Nasir stiffens at the sight of him in his home. He knew officers would be staying at his house around the clock, yet it’s still a shock to see the tall, pale man here.

Agron, who is now ever so slowly getting Nasir up the front walkway and into his house, tenses when Nasir tenses. He fears that this cop will be a constant reminder to Nasir that with Thomas Horn uncaught, Nasir is still in danger. Is there no where that Nasir is truly able to get away from what happened to him? Can he not just be left alone and given time to get over his experiences?

Nasir has been introduced to the police officer, Varro, and they’ve talked many times. Varro is one of the officers who originally questioned Nasir and where Nasir believed the other officers faked sympathy, he had seen genuine concern and respect of his limits in Varro. Varro had been with Nasir at the hospital more than any other cop and both he and Agron liked and respected the man, yet Nasir would be happy to not see another police officer for quite some time. 

When Nasir gets inside, all of his things have been moved into the guest bedroom on the main floor while Varro has been moved into his room. The other three officers will come and go on a rotation, but Varro will be with the family until Thomas Horn is no longer considered a threat. 

Nasir wants his room. He wants his old bed. These small changes and the way his mother has arranged his new room, without his usual splatter of clutter here and there, make his heart clench. He was a fool to think things would go back to how they were and life would just move forward like it always has. 

“Do you like the setup? We can move anything around if you want to!” Nasir looks at his mother. Her tone is a little too cheery and she’s smiling a little too brightly. 

If she can fake her way through this and pretend this situation isn’t as stressful as it truly is then so can he. A room is a room. No use in putting up a fight over something as simple as that.

“It’s great! This room is even bigger than mine and now I don’t have to share a bathroom with Nat.” His younger sister pokes her head around the wall and gives him her classic “don’t even go there look” complete with a raised eyebrow and pursed lips and Nasir sticks his tongue out at her in response. He hasn’t done that since before he was a teenager but it feels good to have this normal, unspoken banter with his sister. Maybe, little by little, things can go back to the way they were. 

His mother chuckles at their exchange and begins help Nasir into his new bed. 

“Wait. I’m not ready to get in bed yet.” He watches his mother stop and stand beside him, lost to what she should do. “Maybe we can go back to the living room? Watch a movie or something with the whole family?”

His mother smiles at him and there’s a happiness without the added concern and worry in her eyes that Nasir hasn’t seen in a long time. 

“That sounds wonderful, hon. Maybe your dad will even let you pick a movie for once.” 

Mrs. Rahim smiles as her son laughs at her words. How she missed that laugh. Mr. Rahim had named himself movie-chooser on their weekly family movie nights long ago; a position he refuses to give up.

“Hey!” Mother and son both hear from the other room, “I choose great movies and you know it!”

Nasir laughs again at his crazy family as his mother thinks she’s never been so grateful to see her son be happy. Things have been abnormal for far too long. The insanity of the Rahim household is a welcome and familiar feeling to both mother and son.

They all do end up watching a movie. Nasir lets his father choose because, honestly, he couldn’t care less what they watch. He sits between his mother and Agron (who refuses to leave Nasir’s side until Nasir asks him to go) and when his parents and sister make little comments throughout the movie, he finds himself watching them more than what’s happening on the screen. It’s good to be home.

Once the movie is finally over and good triumphs over evil or the two main characters get together or however it ended (Nasir really wasn’t paying close attention), they sit down and eat as a family (plus Agron, Varro and Nasir’s uncle). After the meal, Nasir is finally faced with the tiredness that grows with every passing second. He takes the pain medication that his mother gives him after dinner and that only serves to thicken the fog that rolls into his head. 

When Agron helps Nasir to his room, he has to carry him from the wheelchair to his bed because Nasir is dead where he sits. 

Agron goes to tuck the smaller man in and leave but is instead pulled into bed by the last strength Nasir possesses. Agron curls up next to Nasir and pulls him as close as he can without hurting him. 

Nasir mumbles something that sounds like him asking for the lights to be kept on and then he’s fast asleep, his head pillowed on Agron’s arm. 

When Nasir’s mother comes in about half an hour later, she sees Agron with her son and doesn’t even bat an eye. If Agron is what Nasir needs, he can sleep over anytime. She asks Agron if he needs anything and proceeds to bring him his phone so he can text his brother and parents that he’s staying with Nasir tonight. 

Agron tells her to leave the lights on and he thinks she’s left when he hears her quiet voice from the doorway. She must’ve stood there for awhile debating whether or not she was going to say what she speaks next.

“Agron.” His eyes snap up from staring at Nasir’s peaceful, sleeping face and his hand stops its tracing of Nasir’s jawline. “My son loves you. We’ve all been so grateful to you for being by his side for these past weeks. But if you’re here just because something terrible happened to him, if you plan on leaving when he gets better then go now. Don’t stay longer and make it even harder on him when you go.” Her eyes betray her calm exterior. Agron can see she’s saddened by what she’s said and now more than ever he’s angry at himself for losing his temper and ending things with Nasir. This isn’t the first time he regrets the breakup and he’s positive it won’t be the last.

Agron doesn’t know how to respond. He doesn’t know what is the right thing to say so he opens his mouth and just says the truth. “I love him. I’m sorry I ever hurt him and I will make that up to him and stay by his side until he orders me away.”

Nasir’s mother offers Agron a cautious smile before turning and leaving the two boys alone.

Agron doesn’t care that it is still early in the evening. These past weeks had been more draining than Agron liked to admit. 

When they had been dating, Agron would often sneak over to Nasir’s house and curl up in bed with him. It wasn’t even about the sex most of the time it was about the fact that Agron slept best when Nasir was tucked into his side.

He had missed that feeling so greatly that with Nasir next to him, Agron was asleep in no time.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The very next day after Nasir comes home from the hospital, Thomas Horn is caught at a gas station. One attendant recognizes the cold-blooded killer despite the shady disguise he wears. The young man discreetly dials 911 and bears witness as police, FBI and what he thinks are about a dozen other federal agencies come to the scene in record time. 

Thomas Horn doesn’t even put up a fight. He lets himself be arrested with a smile on his face that will haunt even the most senior law enforcement officials.

News of his arrest is everywhere.

Both Agron and the Rahim family were almost as relieved by his arrest as they had been the time when they learned Nasir was alive and would be okay.

Nasir does his best to be happy, yet something inside of himself feels a lasting sense of dread. He celebrates the end of Thomas Horn’s killing spree with his family and friends throughout the day, but that night, with Agron curled beside him, he allows himself to think that this may not yet truly be over.


	5. Chapter 5

Nasir really did think he was okay. He convinced everyone else so spectacularly that he was able to convince himself.

But you can only believe in a lie for so long. The truth has a way of demanding to be known.

The cast that braces his right wrist and elbow has been cut down to release his fingers from their confinement and each finger now has it’s own splint. He has a brace that doesn't allow his knee to bend too much but he’s been taken out of hard casts for his heels and tibia and now is in walking casts. It still hurts like hell to stand straight or breathe too deeply due to the stab wounds and still-healing ribs, but all in all, with therapy every day, Nasir was improving incredibly well. Physically.

After physical therapy every day, Nasir is taken to the hospital psychiatrist. 

It was in front of the psychiatrist that Nasir cried for the first time. Without his family there making him feel like he needed to be brave, Nasir lost it. He cried until his chest felt like it was on fire, burning from the stress of breathing too harshly with broken ribs. 

Nasir really liked his psychiatrist. The woman had a calming presence that made Nasir feel like he could say anything. She never asked the bullshit questions like “how does that make you feel?” which Nasir was forever grateful for. Half the time, he didn't even know how he felt. She did ask if Nasir was ever seeing things. Nasir always answered no. That wasn't always the truth.

This first time Nasir ever questioned his sanity was in the shower. The first shower where he wasn’t assisted by his mother or father. It was the first time he had truly been alone since coming home from the hospital. Since he’d been home, someone had always been by his side. 

Agron stayed with him and slept in his bed the first two weeks of his being home and the night when Agron’s parents demanded Agron return to his own bed, Nasir’s sister had come and curled up in bed with him. He didn’t have to ask her, she just knew someone needed to be by his side at night. He knew sleeping with the light on bugged both Agron and Natasha. Neither said a word about it.

Night was when Nasir was most restless. Whenever Thomas Horn ran errands or went hunting for food it was during the day. Nights were the worst times for Nasir.

So, when Nasir gets in the shower/bath one night after dinner, his skin is crawling just a little like it always does when the sun starts to go down.

The shower in the guest bedroom doesn't drain the best. Over the course of a shower the occupant ends up standing in water that goes up a little past the ankles. This shouldn't bother Nasir, and under normal circumstances it wouldn't, but halfway through the shower Nasir looks down and it’s not water he sees. Nasir looks down and he’s standing in blood. Hot, sticky blood. 

He stumbles out of the shower so fast his foot catches on the edge of the tub he ends up slipping backwards. His back connects with the wall and then his butt hits the floor with a thump. Pain erupts throughout his body. The pain is what shocks him back into reality.

When he looks back into the shower the water is crystal clear. He sits on the floor of the bathroom and shakes violently until he hears his mother calling to him from the bedroom. He has no idea how long he's sat on the bathroom floor but by his mother's worried tone he assumes it's been awhile. He gets up on unsteady legs, turns off the shower and dries himself off as quickly as humanly possible. 

He doesn’t even pull on the walking casts that are sitting right outside the bathtub. He pulls on boxers, grabs his clothes and casts and hobbles out of the bathroom with surprising speed for someone who has on a very constrictive knee brace and is suffering from two fractured heels.

His mother is in his bedroom (even though Varro moved out when Thomas Horn was arrested, Nasir still has the guest bedroom because stairs are still a challenge for him) and he must have terror written on his face because she pulls him into her arms immediately. 

They sit on Nasir’s bed in a tight embrace for a long time. Nasir thinks he should try to convince her he’s okay. He knows she won't believe him so he doesn't bother.

Nasir’s mom sleeps in his bed that night. 

He has a few minor panic attacks when he sees people that remind him of Thomas Horn but nothing else like the bathroom incident...

The second major freak out comes when Nasir finally learns that Riley Smith is dead. Agron, his family and even his therapist (who was reluctant to lie or tell Nasir half-truths but kept silent because of Mrs. Rahim’s insistence) had been putting off telling him and his mother had even been saying that Riley was “slowly but surely recovering.” Nasir should’ve been suspicious since he hadn’t been allowed to see Riley even three weeks after leaving the hospital. He had been too busy thinking about his own family and his own problems.

It was a hospital staffer that had let it slip. Nasir got out of therapy a little early and gone to the front desk to ask about Riley. 

Riley had never been admitted to Boulder Memorial. 

Nasir had pulled his phone out of his pocket, and typed “Thomas Horn” into google. There, on the screen, was the picture of the man who had caused him so much pain. Next to the picture was a list of deceased victims. Riley was on that list. He’d died the day after Nasir had escaped. Cops had found his body in the cabin Nasir and the all others had been held captive. 

He had escaped at Riley's instance. Riley couldn't run but when Nasir got the chance, Riley had said that Nasir had to go so both of them had a chance to get free. Nasir had left him behind. In his mind, Nasir believes he's the reason Riley is dead. 

Nasir’s mother and father both came to the hospital everyday with Nasir when Nasir goes to private therapy and attended a support group for parents. Support hadn’t let out yet that day. Nasir’s ever-trusting mother always left the keys in their car.

Nasir still doesn’t remember leaving the hospital. He doesn’t remember driving anywhere.

Five hours later he finds himself sitting against the car, pulled over on the side of the road staring at the woods that had concealed his car when it had been driven into the trees by Thomas Horn.

Agron is the one to figure it out. He finds Nasir and calls the Rahim’s before getting out of his car. He walks over and sits down on the ground with his back to the Rahim’s car; mimicking the smaller man’s pose. Agron moves as slow as humanly possible, careful not to spook Nasir. 

They sit in silence for moments that drag out in Agron’s mind. Agron has no idea what to say.

It’s Nasir who finally breaks the silence. “I missed his funeral, didn’t I?” Nasir knows the answer to the question he asks to no one in particular.

Agron doesn’t respond, he just moves closer to the smaller boy and wraps an arm around his shoulders. Nasir relaxes into his comforting grip and instead of the blank expression that had been on his face when Agron had arrived, sadness pulls his mouth down and creases his forehead. He pushes his face into Agron's shoulder.

Agron is silently thanking every God he knows. No emotion is terrifying. No emotion could mean anything- the possibilities of what Nasir was feeling were a horrifying mystery to Agron. Sadness is an emotion that Agron at least recognizes. 

They sit together until Nasir’s parents and sister arrive. The cops have been called off and the Rahim’s, though fearful for their son, now choose to just focus on being happy that he’s been found and is unharmed.

Instead of trying to move Nasir, Mr. Rahim sits down on the other side of his son, leaning back against the car like the two younger men. Natasha sits herself between her brothers legs and leans back against his chest, careful of his ribs and other injuries. Mrs. Rahim sits next to her husband. They all sit there, sharing space and reflecting on what the past couple of months have brought to them until the sun starts to go down.

Again, it’s Nasir who breaks the silence. “Let’s go home.”

They all pile into the car that Nasir had accidentally stole from his parents, resolving to pick up the other cars later. 

The ride home is quiet. 

Nasir sits between Agron and his sister. Nasir rests his head on Agron’s shoulder and Natasha rests her head on his shoulder. 

When they get home, both Agron and Natasha get in bed with him. There’s not a lot of room but no one cares. 

Nasir is exhausted mentally and physically from learning that the only other person in the world who would understand exactly what he was going through is dead. 

Natasha is exhausted by the prospect of losing her brother yet again. Even though Nasir isn’t exactly big and intimidating, he was always the protective older brother. He was there whenever Natasha needed him and they talked about everything. Natasha is used to him being the put together one in their relationship. Being the put together one is draining.

Agron is awake. He’s never been more awake. He’s spent every moment that he can with Nasir since he got out of the hospital. School ended for summer break last week. When school was still going on, Agron would come to Nasir’s house the second the final bell rung. He’d do his homework while Nasir watched TV. He and Nasir would play games or just be together. Agron had a suitcase and his own drawer and shelf in Nasir’s room. His parents were the ones that had finally insisted that Agron come home and stop sleeping over at the Rahim’s house. They had insisted that Agron give Nasir some space. Agron had started letting Nasir eat with only his family and would leave to hang out with his brother and friends for a few hours to give Nasir some private time. Sometimes Chadara or Naevia and Mira would come over and Agron would let them spend time with Nasir even though it killed Agron to be from Nasir’s side. Now Agron regrets ever leaving Nasir alone. Hadn’t he promised to protect the smaller man? And now Nasir had slipped out of his grasp again, even if it was only for a little while. 

Agron felt like he had failed again. That feeling haunted him all night.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four nights later, after three nights of going home to his house and pretending to go to bed and then sneaking back to Nasir’s house to sleep with him, Agron is taken by surprise yet again.

They hadn’t even kissed since before Nasir had been kidnapped. Suddenly, Nasir was above Agron, straddling his thighs and kissing him deeply. 

Agron thinks should stop this. Nasir is going through a lot. He’s made serious leaps and bounds in physical therapy, yet mental scars take a long time to heal and fade away (if they ever really do fade). 

Agron should be pushing Nasir off and making sure Nasir was all right. 

His brain is short circuiting at the moment, though.

The man he loves more than anything, after everything they as a couple and as individuals have been through, is suddenly kissing him, wanting him. 

Instead of pushing Nasir away, Agron pushes his tongue into the other boys mouth and puts his hands in the dark, silky hair that he’s missed the feeling of so much.

After passionate kissing that Agron throws himself into with all he is, Nasir suddenly pulls away. Agron can’t suppress the whine escapes from the loss of contact. Nasir pulls Agron up as he sits up and pulls Agron’s T-shirt over his head. Agron does the same to Nasir’s shirt.

Gently and slowly, Agron flips their positions so he’s hovering above the smaller man. Nasir’s lips go to his neck and Agron has to fight against the instinct to rip off the rest of clothing that stands between them and make love to Nasir as quick and rough as they’re both used to. Even the first time was a frenzy to them. They were so eager for one another that things didn’t ever go slow like it probably should when one person loses their virginity to another. Agron had tried to hold himself but Nasir was always fiery in bed.

Agron props himself up on his elbows and lightly pushes on Nasir’s shoulder with one hand. 

“Are you sure about this?” Agron looks deep into Nasir’s eyes when he asks the question. For the first time in too long, Agron doesn’t see the weariness that’s held a constant presence in the darker man’s eyes. Agron just sees love and lust. 

Deep down, Agron knows the weariness will return and will probably stay for a long time until Nasir feels truly safe again. But if Agron can push that weariness away for even a little while then he’s going to. It’s what they both need.

Nasir nods his head.

Agron kisses Nasir’s forehead and from there makes a slow and lazy trail of light kisses down his beautiful form. Agron avoids the scars. He can tell Nasir hasn’t grown used to them being permanently on his body and Agron doesn’t want to remind him of his scars right now.

When Agron reaches Nasir’s sweatpants, he sucks a bruise into the dark skin there as he removes Nasir’s pants and boxers. His own pants quickly follow.

Neither of them have the necessary supplies for going as far as they both want- neither was really planning on this to happen- but Agron is determined to bring Nasir to highest pleasure. 

With his previous boyfriend, Agron had never been very good at being on the delivering end of blowjobs. With Nasir, Agron had wanted to learn how to do better. Nasir made him want to give his lover everything and with some instruction, Nasir soon dubbed Agron "Blowjob King" (not like Nasir had any experience with other partners but he was sure it didn’t get any better than what Agron could do).

For once, the horny teenage hormones don’t kick in for Agron. He isn’t focused on sex for himself. All he wants is for Nasir to be happy.

In one quick motion, Agron takes Nasir in his mouth and goes down far despite not having done this in so long. The gasp/moan that escapes his lovers lips makes Agron realize how much he missed being intimate with Nasir. It hits him with such a force that Agron has to pull back for a moment and gather himself before going back to the task at hand. 

He’s slow with Nasir, making sure his partner isn’t hurting until Nasir begs him in that wrecked voice that comes out during sex and pulls his hair until Agron looks up. Nasir pulls on his shoulders and Agron climbs back up the smaller mans body. 

Agron kisses Nasir again and shudders when Nasir pulls his hips down and their cocks slide against each other. Agron picks up the pace just a bit but still is sure to be gentle. It doesn’t take very long for both of them to come and when they do they’re staring into each others eyes. 

A sex-giddy Agron can feel Nasir smiling into his shoulder as he curls himself around the smaller man, wrapping his arms around Nasir’s back as they lay on their sides facing each other.

Agron feels light and happy for only a short while before he’s pulled under into the best sleep he’s had in months.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They don’t have sex again the next night, Nasir is having another one of his too-tired-to-even-complete-sentences days and Agron is content to just sneak back in and sleep with Nasir. 

Agron knows Nasir has been struggling to reajust. Mrs. Rahim had told him about how freaked out Nasir had seemed after the first solo shower and Agron has seen Nasir stiffen at everyone who even remotely looks like Thomas Horn.

So when Nasir wakes up screaming, Agron thinks he’s had a nightmare.

It’s not a nightmare. 

Nasir still likes to sleep with the lights on so when Agron is woken up in the middle of the night he can see the pain on Nasir’s face. He watches the smaller man wrap his arms around himself like he’s trying to hold himself together and Agron knows something is very wrong.

Nasir can’t even talk through the pain and before Agron can even think what to do, Nasir’s family is in the room. Mr. Rahim goes to pull the car out of the garage. Mrs. Rahim tries to comfort her son. Agron scoops up the smaller man in his arms and carries him bridal-style to the car. He has a vise-like grip on him, holding him to his chest the entire way to the hospital. Agron carries him through the main doors and when it’s time to put him on the gurney, it takes both of Nasir’s parents and a nurse to pull Agron off of Nasir.

Nasir curls in on himself as he’s taken away by the doctors and nurses and Agron is yet again left feeling helpless.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. Sexy times included to make up for making you all wait ;)

Two more nights.

Agron has to spend two more nights in a hospital that he’s enough time in for one lifetime. 

Nasir’s lungs, weakened due to repeated drownings and stress from his current mental down spiral, had filled up with fluid. That’s what sent him to the hospital. And, unfortunately, it seemed that his lungs were not ever going to fully recover. The possibility of them springing a leak again was not only possible, it was likely.

When they had first arrived at the hospital, Agron had frantically pulled aside a random doctor and told him that he’d had sex with Nasir the night before and that’s why Nasir was in the hospital. The sympathetic doctor took one look at the terrified young man before him and informed him that sex probably wasn’t what had induced Nasir’s episode, but he would inform the other doctors of the circumstances so they had all of the facts.

Agron watched the man in the white coat disappear through the double doors that led to patient prep and surgery and thought to himself that if he was the reason that Nasir was back in the hospital, he would never forgive himself.

When Nasir opens his eyes the next morning, he sees the ugly ceiling above him and is overtaken with confusion. For a moment, he believes that everything that had happened since he’d gotten out of the hospital the first time was some ridiculously vivid and realistic dream. Is this the first time he’s woken up since escaping his tormentor? 

A voice beside him snaps him back into reality. 

“Hey. How do you feel? Need me to grab the doctor?”

Nasir turns his head to see a very worried looking Agron sitting in a hospital chair pulled up so close to his bed that if it were any closer it would be on top of him. And Agron isn’t exactly sitting… it looks like his lower half is hovering over the chair, legs ready to spring up and get anything Nasir should need. 

Everything comes back to Nasir in a flash. The past few weeks were no dream, of that Nasir is sure. He’d gotten out, started recovering (both mentally and physically) and for some reason he was back in the hospital.

“What happened?” Nasir’s own voice is so low and gravelly that it’s foreign to his ears. He’s just now becoming aware of how much his throat and side hurt. 

Agron finally breaks from his awkward sitting/squatting position and stands next to Nasir, grabbing the ice chips the nurses had left on the bedside table and offering them to Nasir. Nasir takes the cup gratefully and puts one in his mouth, immediately feeling relief from his burning throat. He looks up at Agron, who’s hovering above him like he’s trying to block Nasir off from the rest of the world with his body, and his eyes demand an answer to his previous question.

Agron sits back in the seat and breaks eye contact with Nasir by shielding his eyes with his hand.

For the first time, it occurs to Nasir what this whole ordeal must’ve been like for Agron. He feels like an ass. He’s been so concerned about himself and his family that it never crossed his mind that Agron, his rock through this whole thing, could be hurting as much as the rest of them. He can see before his eyes the man before him, but this isn’t his Agron. This isn’t the carefree, fun, witty, loving Agron that he’d dated for a year and a half. This Agron has had to grow up too much too fast in just a few months. 

It hits Nasir with a force when he puts himself in Agron’s shoes. Even after the breakup, if Agron had been hurt, Nasir would be at his side in a second. Even if Agron didn’t want him there, he’d stay until he knew Agron was okay. 

He still loves Agron. And Agron still loves him more than anything. 

He’s still mad about the breakup; they’d have to talk about Agron’s trust issues one of these days, but for the moment none of that mattered. For right now, they love each other and that’s what is important.

Again, Agron’s voice is what shakes him back into reality. 

“Your lungs filled up with fluid. You were in so much pain. It was awful.” His voice cracks on the last word and Nasir’s heart cracks with it. 

Nasir grabs for Agron’s hand even though he has to reach and something pulls on his side. He doesn’t even register the pain, he squeezes Agron’s hand with as much strength as he can muster.

“I’m so sorry.”

With those words Agron’s head snaps up and he finally looks at Nasir. Both have tears in their eyes. 

“What could you possibly be sorry for?”

Nasir swallows and looks away from Agron for a moment. He composes himself for a few moments before he looks back up and says what is bubbling in his chest, demanding to be let out. Nasir isn’t sure if words can convey how sorry and thankful he is to the man before him.

“I’m sorry for everything I’ve put you through. I’m sorry that you’ve spent nights worrying about me and days taking care of me. I’m sorry that you’ve been here for me and you ask how I’m doing and I don’t even check up on you. I’ve been terrible to you and you’ve only been amazing and I can’t thank you enough and I can’t possibly ask you to stay with me after -”

“Stop,” Agron commands in a firm yet gentle voice. In the middle of his apology/rant Nasir had started crying, letting the tears flow freely without the energy to hold them back. Agron leans over the shorter man and hugs him to his chest. He should probably handle Nasir with caution due to the fact that he was admitted to the hospital yesterday and he has a tube inserted into his side that goes into his lung to drain fluid but he grabs the smaller man and holds on tightly. It’s what they both need.

“I was an idiot to ever doubt you. I know that now and I knew that then I was just too proud and stupid to admit it. I would stand by your side through something like this a thousand times over because I love you more than anything else in this world. Don’t ever apologize for needing me because I need you too and I will stay with you until you order me away,” Agron murmurs into soft, dark hair.

“Never.” Comes the quiet reply. 

They stay like that, Agron hovering over Nasir, holding him close until Nasir’s parents come back from their hospital cafeteria lunch (it was disgusting but what would you expect?) and Nasir gets three more hugs - one from each family member. 

The doctor comes in. Nasir spends another day in the hospital and Agron only leaves once to change and shower. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More weeks pass and Nasir seems… lighter. Agron is thankful to see his love seem like he’s finally coming to terms with all that’s happened and moving past it.

Agron and Nasir slip back into their easy relationship, and with that both feel a little (actually, a lot) more themselves. Nasir’s still healing, but he’s more excited than ever to get better and get back to how things were before. 

He goes to Riley’s grave and talks to the boy with whom he’d shared his worst experiences. 

He tells his family more of what he’s going through. 

He gets and starts working on school work that the teachers gave him so he can be ready for senior year. He had always been a straight A student so the teachers had no worries about him catching up and being ready for twelfth grade. 

And, He and Agron talk about what happened with Castus. It’s more than one conversation. It takes some time to work through the thing that had ripped them apart when they had first started dating but they move through it and both think they’re stronger than ever because of it.

The one thing that doesn’t go back to normal is that Agron refuses to have sex with Nasir again. The kiss and exchange light caresses. Agron will still sneak in and they’ll sleep together. Whenever Nasir tries to start something, Agron will pull him against his chest and tell him it’s time to go to sleep. 

It’s infuriating. 

“Sooooo. Why are we not having sex, again?” Nasir finally gets the courage to ask Agron one night when the larger man is spooning him from behind. He purposely pushes his butt back against Agron’s crotch, hoping that Agron’s apparent desire for abstinence will be broken if he can do the things that he knows drive Agron crazy. 

Unbeknownst to their parents, Agron and Nasir would have “sleepovers” frequently when they were dating. At first they really were innocent. They’d stay up all night talking until they fell asleep late into the morning and then one would slip out and go back home to get ready for school. It took Nasir awhile to be ready for sex, and Agron was the perfect gentleman. He never pushed the slightly younger man or made him uncomfortable. When they did start having sex, the sleepovers became a lot more frequent. It didn’t take long for Nasir to figure out that morning sex was one of Agron’s favorite pastimes. They’d wake up in each others arms and Nasir would push back into the taller man’s body and that’s all it would take to get Agron worked up. He’d pin Nasir to the bed and indulge in his favorite activity.

Nasir knows what his butt against Agron’s front does to the bigger man. He’s hoping this is the night that they consummate their resumed relationship. 

Agron has other plans.

He holds Nasir so tightly that the shorter man cannot move an inch and murmers in his ear. “Because last time we had sex, you were in the hospital the next day. You’re still recovering. Give yourself some time.”

“It wasn’t your fault! Sex isn’t what filled my lungs up with fluid. And when exactly will I be all better in your eyes? A week? A month? A year? Will I ever be better in your eyes?” Nasir’s angry now. He’s tired of being treated like he’s weak. He’s tired of being too weak to do what he wants.

Agron places a sweet kiss against Nasir’s neck, just below the ear and Nasir can’t contain a shudder. “Go to sleep, love.”

Nasir rolls his eyes but snuggles into the bigger man's chest. 

“Could you turn off the lights?” Nasir can feel Agron tense behind him. He’s been sleeping with the lights on since he got back from the hospital the first time. The lights are what allow him to instantly know he’s safe when he jolts awake in the night, plagued by dark thoughts and dreams. Now he has Agron. He doesn’t need the lights.

Agron kisses him on the neck again before slipping out of bed, turning off the lights and returning to his love’s side quickly. He holds Nasir even more tightly than before, hoping he will be enough to ward off nightmares.

He is.

They both sleep soundly, wrapped in each other’s arms.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
In a week, Spartacus is having his infamous summer party that he’s held every summer since eighth grade. Nasir is invited tentatively, Spartacus asks him to come via text but that text is followed by about five more all saying that he doesn’t have too if he doesn’t want too and everyone will understand if he doesn’t come.

None of his friends are exactly sure how to act around him. Even Naevia and Mira, when they come to visit him at his house or take him to a movie (it took a lot of convincing but his parents finally let him leave the house without their supervision), are hesitant to bring up certain subject and there are times when Nasir can physically feel the tension between them.

Nasir tries to not let it get to him. He understands why they’re nervous. He probably would be too if he were in their shoes. 

Things are going so great with Agron that Nasir chooses to focus on that and believe that, with time, all other issues will resolve themselves. 

Still, Nasir can’t help but jump on the party invite. It’s the perfect chance to show that he can be a normal teenager around his friends. He’s told himself to be patient but he wants things to be back to normal. Now, preferably. 

It takes a lot of persuading - both his parents and Agron have their reservations about Nasir going out - but they all agree that it’s time for Nasir to have fun with his friends again (the Rahim parents pull Agron aside later and tell him that he is not to let Nasir out of his sights for even a second and Agron tells them that he’s already planning on doing just that).

The day of the party draws closer and closer and Nasir becomes more anxious. Can he play the happy-go-lucky teenager well enough to convince his friends that he’s fine? Can he get the people in his life to stop treating him like something that’s so delicate it could break at any time?

The night before, Agron crawls into bed with him and Nasir tosses and turns for half an hour before Agron finally turns him around so they’re facing each other and asks him what he’s thinking.

“What if they think I’m not the same? What if we can’t be friends again?”

Agron lets out a huff of exasperation and affection, trying to make light of the situation that has his boyfriend so worked up. “They love you. They’re just not 100% sure how to act but that’ll get better. Everything may not be perfect tomorrow night but just go, have fun and they’ll see how amazing you’re doing and, in time, it’ll all be fine.”

Nasir kisses the larger man, grateful that he’s confirming what Nasir is hoping for and making Nasir feel better about deciding to go tomorrow. 

Agron smiles against the kiss and, after a moment, pulls away. “Now relax and go to sleep.”

“Hmmmm,” Nasir says in his most mischievous voice, looking up at Agron through his eyelashes, knowing that it drives Agron crazy when he does that. “I just can’t seem to relax. Will you help me?” On “me” he hooks his arm around Agron’s shoulder and hauls the larger man over so that Agron is above Nasir. In a quick motion, Nasir wraps his legs around Agron’s hips and kisses his neck just below the jaw. 

He can feel Agron tense and start to pull away so he pulls his lips off Agron’s neck, grabs his face and kisses him forcefully. He’s tried a few different things to try and get Agron to sleep with him since hospital stay #2, this one is the one that proves to be effective. 

Finally, finally, Agron tugs his boxers down and off, allowing his cock to spring free, already starting to get full and heavy. Nasir manages to keep his eyes open long enough to watch as Agron, whose resolve had crumbled the second Nasir kissed him, work his way down his body and lick up the shaft, slow and torturous. It's not enough and leaves Nasir shuddering, desperate for more.

"Agron," Nasir says, half whine and half gasp as the name leaves his kiss-swollen lips.

Agron grins up at him. He would be annoyed that it had taken so little to get him to give in and have sex with his boyfriend again, but how could he be mad at the beautiful creature writing beneath him? "Patience, love," he says, licking up his shaft again, but this time, slowly, steadily, he sinks his mouth down over the head.

A noise escapes Nasir's throat, and he’d be embarrassed at the sound he makes if he didn’t feel so good right now. His fingers slip into spiky hair and he tightens his fingers on the short strands. He can feel Agron gripping his calf and he’s never felt so relaxed and so on edge at the same time. It’s everything and it’s been too long since they’ve had this. This isn’t the quick sex they’d had before Nasir had been in the hospital the second time when they were both looking for release and both unsure of where the relationship stood. 

This wasn’t just sex. This was making love. 

"So long," Nasir breathes, every muscle tightening under Agron’s actions, "it's been so long –"  
"Shhh," Agron says, pulling off to blow cool air onto Nasir's cock, making him shudder violently. Agron smiles against his thigh and sucks another bruise into sensitive skin. "You’re parents are going to hear if you keep that up."

Nasir can feel heat in his cheeks. He’d forgotten that he was in a house full of people. "Sorry… I just feel better than I have in months," he murmurs, shifting on the bed, getting in a more comfortable position as Agron continues. He can feel Agron smile again and he opens his eyes as he feels Agron pull back slightly.

"I’ve already told you you don’t ever have to apologize to me… but you may have to apologize to your parents if they wake up and find your dick in my mouth.” Agron smiles that shit eating grin of his (god those dimples!) and Nasir tries to act annoyed with his ridiculous boyfriend but he’s just amazed that Agron can literally make a joke of anything and make him laugh even in the most serious and tender of moments. 

Nasir raises an eyebrow at him and tries to put annoyance in his words. "Why are you talking?” He asks with mock seriousness. Aren’t you supposed to be – ohhhh –" All of a sudden Agron goes back to the task at hand (or at mouth as the case may be) and Nasir again forgets that anything else exists.

Agron pulls off again and Nasir is more sexually frustrated than ever before. "I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt. What were you saying?" That fucking grin is back on his face.

Nasir wants to shoot some snippy comment his way but since the man is literally giving him the blowjob of a lifetime he humors Agron. He plants a fake smile on his face and says in his sweetest voice, “Nothing love. I wasn’t saying a thing. Now weren’t you busy with something?”

Agron ducks his head and laughs into the dark skin of Nasir’s lower waist. “I love you,” he murmurs as he gets back to business. This time he isn’t stopping. This time he’s going to bring Nasir the highest pleasure.

"I’m warning you I won’t last, I just - god shit -" Nasir cries out as Agron's mouth moves from his cock to his balls and his fingers draw lazy circles around his hole.

Agron’s mouth moves back to the shaft and Nasir moans again. Agron grinds against the sheets a little, which makes the smaller man realize that Agron is just as sexually frustrated as he is. He doesn’t want it to end like this. He wants all of Agron.

"Agron, oh god, Agron – ah - stop." He says the command as forcefully as he’s able and Agron pulls back immediately, worried that something is wrong. He starts to voice his concern when Nasir places a slender finger over slick and filthy lips. “I’m fine. I just want you inside of me when I come.”

“But - “

“I’ll be fine,” Nasir cuts him off before he can object, guessing that his argument is going to be that Nasir may not be ready yet. “I got the stuff we need back from my room and brought it down here and if it hurts too much we can do something else.” 

The worry lines are still clear on Agron’s face so Nasir pulls the man up to him and places a loving kiss on the furrowed brow. 

“You haven’t said no to me tonight yet. Don’t start now,” his tone is light but he’s worried Agron will come to his senses and keep him at arms length like he’s been doing for the past week. 

Nasir pushes Agron back onto the bed and moves to straddle him before he can think twice. 

Agron loves Nasir on top, he loves watching the way his man can move. Nasir knows this. He’s doing everything so that Agron can’t say no to him.

Nasir leans down and pushes his lips to Agrons while reaching over into the drawer that contains what they need over to the drawer on his side of the bed. He grabs a condom and puts it on the top of the table before opening Agron’s fingers with his own and placing a bottle of lube in them.

“I know you love this part.” He mumbles seductively as his nose skims along Agron’s jawline.

Agron does love this part. He loves the intimacy of the act of opening up his partner to prepare him for sex. He loves it almost as much as the act itself.

The first finger feels good. The second finger brings pain. Of course it hurts, they haven’t done this in months. Still, Nasir didn’t expect it to feel like the first time all over again. 

Agron can feel the man above him tense even though he tries to hide the pain he feels.

"Okay?" Agron whispers, leaning up to place loving kisses on Nasir’s chest.

"I’m good," he whispers back, forcing himself to relax. Agron twists his fingers and scissors them inside Nasir, kissing the man to distract him from the discomfort. They kiss for awhile, and Nasir whispers to him, "Three, please."

Agron is so slow and tender, even though Nasir can feel how hard and desperate he is. 

Finally Nasir is ready. He reaches back and pulls on Agron’s wrist gently, letting him know he’s ready for more.

His stops breathing as Agron removes his fingers. He can practically hear every part of his body calling to Agron to keep going, to never stop.

Agron grabs the condom from the table, slips it on and then it’s time for more. 

"Tell me… I don’t want to hurt you," Agron says quietly, the worried look returning to his face.

Nasir doesn’t respond. He kisses Agron and reaches down to take his cock in hand and lines it up, slowly he sinks down. Nasir isn’t going to lie, it hurts. It’s been too long and Agron is huge, a lot bigger than three fingers. He buries his face in the taller man’s chest for a moment, concealing the hurt that’s got to be showing through his features.

"Oh gods," Agron's grunting as he bottoms out, "don't – just you can’t move for a second -”

Nasir wasn’t planning on moving for a moment. He’s still adjusting but he’s glad Agron is the one who asks to stop so he has an excuse to take time to get used to the feeling of Agron inside of his body. 

He waits a few moments, until the sting goes away before he raises up to look at the taller man’s face. "Can I move?" Nasir murmurs, fingers brushing across Agron’s chest, over the scar just above his heart that he got from a car accident when he was a child.

Agron nods, his eyes still firmly shut in concentration, attempting to contain the strong desire to fuck up into Nasir with all of his strength.  
Nasir starts an unhurried pace. They’re both still getting used to this. As he moves, he grows harder between them. During the preparation, the pain had caused Nasir’s cock to lose some of it’s hardness and it was now becoming interested again.

Nasir moves up and down, up and down, a few times before he looks up and finds green eyes now open and watching him. "I love you.” 

Nasir stops for a moment, grounded by Agron’s words. He wants to respond but he’s a bit choked up so Nasir rolls his hips, pulling a groan from Agron's chest. He smiles at the man beneath him and the love in his eyes conveys everything his mouth couldn’t say. 

Nasir sits up so he can move more easily and picks up the pace. Agron’s neck cranes back, head pushing against the pillows and eyes screwing shut again - clearly trying not to thrust. He knows he has to let Nasir do the moving since Nasir is the one who is injured. That’s easier said than done.

Another rise and fall, another, and gods it’s good. Nasir wants to live in this moment forever but he can feel both of their releases drawing near.

Agron sits up suddenly and their lips crash together. The kiss is brutal and yet, it’s not enough. 

One of Agron's arms go around Nasir’s back and his head goes to his shoulder, tongue drawing patterns on the dark skin. His other hand moves between them to grasp Nasir's erection, giving much needed attention to his lovers cock.

Nasir sucks in a breath, his head falling back, exposing his long, lovely neck that Agron wastes no time attacking with lips and teeth.

"I’m not gonna last," Nasir gasps. He grabs Agron’s hair and pulls. Bringing his head up so lips can meet in another bruising kiss.

Agron’s control fails and he begins to groan as quietly as he can manage, trying to contain himself. He pushes his heels into the bed and his hips begin snapping up a little, getting stronger and stronger with each thrust, his hand stroking harder on Nasir's cock.

"Ohhhh," Both moan into the others mouth, getting closer every second.

Nasir's body rolls like he's never been injured, and they both forget all that he’s been through in the past months.

The orgasms hit them like a whip; sharp and sudden. Nasir comes first, chest tightens and he bites on his bottom lip to contain his noises. Agron watches Nasir fall into bliss and that’s enough to tip him over the edge, following Nasir down.

Their lips move together lazily for awhile and neither bother to move apart until Nasir can feel Agron begin to soften inside him. He carefully moves off and lays down on the bed beside Agron, both with chests still heaving and heads still spinning with wonderful pleasure. 

Nasir doesn’t even register when Agron gets off the bed until the man come back with a damp towel and cleans them both off. He throws the towel in the direction of the bathroom, too worn out to even walk back into the bathroom and gets back under the sheets with Nasir.

They stay curled up in a tangle of arms and limbs, exchanging caresses on arms and sides and gentle kisses for what feels like hours.

Finally, Agron can tell that something is on Nasir’s mind, preventing sleep.

“What is it that chases dreams away?” He mumbles, trying his best not to sound sleepy.

Nasir lets out a sigh and wiggles against the taller man before offering a reply. “I’m nervous about the party tomorrow… I mean they’re my friends but there’s just this tension like they think I’m a different person because of everything even though I’m not and…” Nasir stops when he realizes he’s rambling and lets out another sigh.

Agron smiles against dark hair. He hates it when Nasir is scared or nervous but loves that Nasir is, for a change, stressing over normal teenage problems. 

“It’ll be fine, love. Things will go back to how they were in no time and I’m going to be by your side the whole time.”

“Thank you.” Nasir looks up at Agron and sees only love and devotion in the green eyes that peer down on him.

“You never have to apologize and you never have to thank me for doing something that I love.”

Nasir smiles, Agron returns the gesture with his big smiles that melt Nasir’s heart and they curl back against each other. Peaceful sleep comes to both of them the second eyes are closed.


	7. Chapter 7

They’re late… Okay they’re reeeeally late.

Not that parties are something that you’re supposed to show up on time to, but Agron had wanted to get there right at 8 when Spartacus had said “festivities” were to be commenced. He loved Nasir more than life itself but he had been looking forward to getting to his friends house maybe even a little early so they could have some quality catching up time. Agron had to admit he kind of missed the crazy group of people that he hasn’t had the time to see lately.

But when Nasir had given him that look right before they were supposed to leave, Agron had no choice but to throw him down on the mattress and have an encore of what had occurred the night before. 

Agron also had really missed sex with Nasir. He told himself to take things slow, that Nasir may not be willing to be intimate for many more months, but sometimes, curled up night after night in a bed with a sleeping and gorgeous Nasir, it was hard not to think about all the things they used to do in a bed before… everything that had happened.

Now, Nasir was mostly healed and wanting sex as badly as Agron and Agron found he could not say no to his little man. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the party and the fact that Nasir’s parents would probably get suspicious, Agron would have liked to spend this whole day in Nasir’s room catching up on all the sex they hadn’t had these past weeks. 

So here they were, throwing on clothes and trying to leave an hour later (they would’ve been just half an hour late but Agron will take full responsibility for initiating round two) and trying not to look too sexed out so the Rahims and their friends don’t give them looks. 

By the time they get there, Spartacus has a full house of people talking and laughing with drinks in hand. Three kegs are lined up in a row in the backyard and music is playing loudly through speakers. Spartacus belongs to one of the richest families in the state and they donate a lot to various organizations (including the police force) so when these parties occur at his house - usually once or twice a year, every year - the police tend to look the other way. Which means these events tend to be completely insane.

A few people that Agron doesn’t know are already drunk and stumbling around. Agron doesn’t know whether to be impressed by their dedication to partying or dismayed for them for being that drunk this early in the night.

Agron walks in with his arm around Nasir’s shoulders, tightening his grip around the smaller man a bit before walking into view of the group, all together with drinks in hand talking and laughing. It’s Mira who notices the two guys enter first and as she breaks off to greet them all heads turn their way. 

There’s no awkwardness. Before he’s even able to react he’s pulled into hug after hug after hug and Nasir is going through the same. Lots of joking “where have you been?!” ‘s and “so you two are alive!” ‘s are thrown around and Agron just laughs and shakes his head and hears Nasir do the same. 

Agron expected things to be… different. He knew he’d be happily welcomed but he expected people to back off of Nasir a bit. No such thing happens throughout the night. They treat Nasir like nothing has occurred and Agron watches with a smile as Nasir moves through the crowd, talking and catching up with everyone. Agron can hear the question “Are you okay?” asked a few times, but Nasir always smiles and says he’s getting there and the matter isn’t pressed further. 

Agron constantly reminds himself throughout the night not to hover too much. He’s enjoying the party and the company but he finds himself making sure Nasir is alright and within eyesight every few seconds. 

“How is he doing really?” The quiet question startles Agron out of his most recent visual inspection of Nasir’s well being. He turns to find Spartacus looking at him with concern written all over his face. “And how are you, while we’re at it?”

The rest of the group has stepped away to either go dance or get more to drink leaving Agron alone with Spartacus. 

Agron shoots one more look Nasir’s way. They lock eyes and Nasir flashes him a smile that warms Agron’s heart. Nasir is happy in a way that Agron hasn’t seen for awhile. He looks young and carefree again like a teenager should.

“He’s healing,” Agron says as he turns to face Spartacus again. “It’s going to take more than a few weeks or months, but he’s healing. I’m grateful that you’re all treating him like everything is normal. Normal is what he needs. What we both need. And for me? I don’t know… Sometimes…” Agron pauses to sigh and run his hands through his hair. He looks around at his friends and wonders how different things would be if Nasir had actually died. Would they ever have been able to move past such a violent death of a close friend?

“Sometimes I think about how close I came to losing him. I think about all he’s gone through and it kills me. As he gets better I think about it less and less but every now and then when he gets this faraway look in his eye I just…. God I don’t even know.” Another deep, shaky sigh. “I sure as hell won’t take him for granted again.”

Spartacus smiles and holds out his arm to which Agron grasps tightly just below the elbow - a familiar gesture in their group. 

Spartacus grips back just as tightly, adding a depth to his words. “He will get better. And as he heals so will you. You’re both too strong for this to break you. And whenever you’re stuggling lean on some of us a bit more. We are always here. For both of you.”

As Agron smiles and begins to express how grateful he is for the support, Spartacus pushes away the arm tightly gripping his own and his tone turns from serious to light. “Of course you won’t take him for granted again. You’re stupid but not that stupid.” 

He laughs and try as he might Agron can’t even conjure up mock anger at the other man’s words. He laughs along with Spartacus like he’s just heard the funniest joke in the world. Duro and Gannicus return with more beer and Agron decides to get pretty drunk tonight. Not drunk enough that he couldn’t act if the need would arise, but drunk enough that all worries slip away. And it seems Nasir is doing the same.

By 2 a.m. most people are either leaving or passed out somewhere in the house. Agron stopped drinking an hour ago so he’s buzzed on the verge of being completely sober and is sitting on the deck with Nasir in his arms, his brother at his side and the remaining people who are now sober enough to stay up and talk. 

Almost everyone made it to this part of the night with the exception of Gannicus and Saxa who went a little too hard and are passed out in a lawn chair on the other side of the deck. It’s been a tradition since this yearly (or bi-yearly as has been the case since last year) party became a thing. As people begin to leave, usually around 1 or 2, they’ll stay up talking, bitching about the upcoming school year and basically enjoy all being together. During the summer, it’s always hard to get everyone together with a group their size. They’re working or with significant others so hangouts consist of only a few people. 

But here, at Spartacus’s parties they are all together. And they usually stay up until the sun rises or until they can’t function anymore before passing out, getting a few hours of sleep and then heading off to iHop for hangover food.

They also typically pull some sort of prank on whoever is unfortunate enough to fall asleep first and Agron is looking forward to making Gannicus pay for drawing penises all over his face the one time Agron was the first to fall asleep.

Tonight, after an hour or so of light and easy conversation (and plotting against the unconscious pair asleep on the other side of the deck), Nasir nudges Agron with his elbow and raises his head to meet the taller man’s eye. 

Agron can’t help but smile and brush away hair from the face of a sleepy looking Nasir. “What is it, love?”

Duro gags, making a face at the pet name his brother uses and the look of pure love currently being exchanged between the pair. Neither pay him any attention.

“Would you mind taking me home? I’m tired and I forgot to take my meds before I left. I’m fine, really, but I kinda want to go home and crash in my own bed.” Nasir’s voice is quiet, just loud enough for Agron to hear him and he fights the urge to just lay his head back down and fall asleep. 

Agron smiles again and nods his head. 

They get up and say their goodbyes, promising to get together with everyone again before leaving.

The second they slip into Agron’s truck, Agron slips his fingers into Nasir’s and holds the short man’s hand within his own on his thigh. His thumb grazes over darker skin in a relaxing and loving gesture, hoping that Nasir had as much fun as Agron thinks he had and preparing to offer comfort if not.

“That was fun.” Nasir says as he leans back against the headrest and closes his eyes. “I didn’t realize how much I missed them.”

Another smile turns up the corners of Agron’s mouth and he squeezes the hand trapped in his own in response.

The ride is quiet - they’re both tired, but content. As they pull up to the Rahim household, Nasir finally opens his eyes again and looks at Agron.

“Agron, go back to the party. I know how much you’ve missed your brother, Spartacus and even Crixus.”

Agron starts to protest but Nasir holds up a finger. “I will be fine. I know you want to go back. As much as I love and want you, I can get through the night without you. Go home with your brother. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

If Nasir didn’t look so stubborn and sure, Agron would’ve protested a lot more. Instead he smiles for what feels like the millionth time tonight and surges forward to capture full lips under his own. Nasir responds immediately and after a few glorious minutes of Agron tracing every feature of the Nasir’s mouth with his tongue, he pulls away. 

“I love you. Are you sure you’re gonna be alright? Will you call me if you need anything? And I mean anything?”

Nasir chuckles, his forehead still resting against Agron’s so the taller man feels the vibration as he laughs. “I love you too. And yes, yes and yes. But I am fine and I will be more fine if you go have a good night while I get some sleep.”

Agron moves to place his lips against Nasir’s forehead, holding them their for a moment. “You’re the best boyfriend, you know that right?”

Nasir rewards him with another chuckle. “Of course I know that. Now I’m going to get out and you’re going to be safe and have a good night.” His words are a gentle command and lips are pressed together again, more tender this time than passionate, before he slips out of the truck and towards his front door.

Agron watches him walk up the sidewalk leading to house for a few beats before turning the car back on and driving back to Spartacus’s house. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nasir almost misses it as he fishes his keys out to open the front door of his house. It’s tucked in beside the plant next to the door, sticking out enough to be seen but still half hidden. Nasir picks up the clear, plastic case and studies its contents.

The disk inside has “WATCH ME” written in big, bold letters and curiosity gets the better of Nasir. What could this possibly be? Nasir recalls the time his grandmother made a video montage of family photos that was sent to all family members. It was three hours long. A nice idea in thought, but three hours of sitting on the couch with Natasha and the parents watching pictures fade in and out of the screen had proved to be a painful night.

Nasir is actually hoping for another video montage from some family member though… The normalcy of family would be a comfort right now.

Nasir creeps in the house as quietly as he can, the only light is coming from the kitchen and the main room is still mostly shadows so Nasir is extra careful to not trip over shoes or some odd item and wake up his parents. He slips into the kitchen to turn off the light (he knows his mom is probably still awake and he knows that his parents can see the kitchen light from their bedroom. He’s hoping to assure his mother that he’s back safe and she can finally go to sleep.) and then uses the light from his phone to slip into the TV room and put the disk in the DVD player. 

He turns the volume down but he needn’t worry about making noise. The video has no audio. 

After a few seconds of blackness on the screen the video finally begins to play and the second it does Nasir goes numb. The air leaves his lungs and his blood turns to ice.

It’s him. He’s on the screen.

And Riley.

And Thomas Horn. 

Nasir watches as the blindfolded TV version of himself throws his head back, neck taunt with pain, as a thin blade is pushed into his stomach by a grinning Thomas Horn. He remembers this day. The day he was stabbed over and over and over. He remembers the feeling of the blade slicing through his skin and the burning hot that followed that closed up the wounds, keeping him from bleeding out. Of all the days of being held against his will, this is the day he had most strongly wished for death to finally come. He had nearly bitten his tongue off that day to avoid screaming out. He had refused during his time in captivity to cry out or beg for help or plead for it to stop. It was his one and only way of rebelling against what was being done to him. The only thing he could control.

Nasir wants to stop it all, to turn off the TV and unsee what’s playing before his eyes but he’s frozen. His brain is so overwhelmed by what’s its watching that it can’t communicate with the rest of his body. 

Just as Nasir starts to become aware of himself again and move to grab the remote and turn off the images before him the camera moves. 

And he’s frozen in spot again.

The camera moved.

There’s a cameraman. Someone is not only watching this happen to him, they’re recording it. Nasir had been right about someone else helping Thomas Horn. 

It’s like he’s using this video to announce his existence. Deep down though, Nasir had always known he existed. This is just a confirmation. 

The sudden, terrible thought that this man, whoever he is, has had this footage for weeks and has possibly watched and rewatched it many times it what finally gets Nasir moving. He barely makes it to the bathroom before he’s throwing up the contents of his stomach. 

He stays by the toilet for a long time, shaking like a man in the arctic without a coat. He's trying to figure out what exactly he should be doing next. He doesn’t want his parents to see this video. He doesn’t want them ever knowing of its existence. Same goes for Agron.

He shuts down again, like he did when he found out Riley died, and flies on autopilot. His head knows what needs to be done so it takes over his actions. Flush toilet. Rinse out mouth. Back into TV room. Retrieve disk from DVD player. Call Varro.

It’s late and the police officer is probably deep in the land of dreams but the rational, feeling-bad-for-waking-someone-up part of his brain has ceased operations. Varro answers on the fourth ring and Nasir can hear himself ask to be picked up at his home. Varro asks if everything is alright, if backup is needed. Nasir answers that everything is fine.

He leaves the house again as quietly as he’s able and stands by the mailbox, waiting for Varro to arrive. The DVD is tucked securely into his jacket. Nasir can almost swear the cool plastic container that houses the disk is burning through his clothing. Never before has something so small felt so foreign and heavy.

He should probably be waiting inside. This was left at his home. The cameraman obviously knows where he lives and may even still be closeby. Again, the worrying part of his brain isn’t exactly working at the moment. Nasir is moving without any control over his actions. Some code in his DNA is kicking in now, compelling him to do what is best in this situation. To not freak out just yet. To get this DVD to Varro and inform him of the second man.

Varro pulls up and Nasir gets into the car. The second he’s inside, safe with the cop next to him, he feels the despair creep in. He barely survived this the first time. He’s not sure he can or wants to do it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know... I'm terrible. He basically heals only to have this happen... What can I say? I'm terrible.
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, hope this makes up for the MASSIVE delay. I will finish this work.

Warm brown eyes look at him while they both laugh at something as if they’ve just heard the most hilarious joke that’s ever been told. His big arms are wrapped around the small body in front of him that he knows as well as his own. He’s sure if he were to go blind he could still easily map out every part of the body that’s held in his arms.

It’s warm here. The sun is shining and they run around together like children - playing without a care in the world. Here, it’s only them. It's not real. But for now it's enough. 

Agron wakes from his dream slowly. It’s one of those rare dreams that leaves you wanting, begging for it to continue. Agron swears he can still feel the warmth from his dream, that he can still feel Nasir in his arms. But Nasir surprisingly isn’t in his arms. 

For a moment he is confused where he is. It’s been ages since he’s woken up in his own bed. The mattress and sheets nearly feel like foreign objects to him. He thought he’d miss his own bed, his own pillow and blankets more, but honestly it’s disappointing to wake up without Nasir next to him. He’s sure he’d trade the bed and all its comforts and rest on the floor if Nasir suddenly decided that’s where he wanted to sleep. There’s no greater comfort than the feeling of the smaller man in his arms. 

Agron blinks a few more times and starts to move around, stretching his tired limbs and slowly becoming more aware of himself. How did he wind up back home and not with Nasir? Did they have a fight?

No that’s not right… Bit by bit the night comes back to him. Agron wouldn’t exactly call himself a quick thinker right in this moment, his head is too foggy to form thoughts in a swift manner, however the previous night does piece itself back together. Around 6:30 the group that was still awake had decided to go get some breakfast. After a large stack of waffles and tired conversation, Agron had driven himself and Duro home to crash. 

Judging by how well-rested he feels, Agron can venture the guess that he’s slept most of the day away. Ah sleep, glorious sleep. He’s been getting more and more of it lately and it feels amazing. His worries are growing smaller. There’s less and less to keep him up at night. Less of staring at the ceiling and clinging to the man in his arms as if letting him go will lead them both to their demise. 

Agron smiles as he thinks about the dream he’d just had. Everything had been perfect. There was no pain there. And then he thinks again about last night. There had been no pain there either. It had been perfect. Nasir had seemed like his social, happy self. Agron had been there as Nasir slowly and painstakingly put himself together again. Maybe Nasir was whole again. Maybe they both were.

They could never forget, but, together, they could rebuild and return to the lives they’d had. The lives filled with friends and love and laughter. The thought of Nasir being as happy everyday as he had been last night send Agron’s heart flying. Finally, Agron can actually picture that dream of his becoming a reality. 

Agron pulls out his phone to call Nasir and ask him how he’s doing. His cell phone lets him know that its two o’clock in the afternoon. Agron is sure Nasir will have long been up and about by now. Guilt shoots through him as he remembers that he was supposed to text Nasir when he got home and he’d forgotten before he’d fallen into bed- asleep by the time he’d hit the pillows. He was sure Nasir was waiting for him to shoot a text out or call saying he was alive and well. 

The phone rings and rings but Nasir doesn’t answer. Frowning and fighting what Agron is sure is irrational but immediate budding panic, he mentally reminds himself that the phone isn’t physically attached to Nasir’s hand. The shorter man has always been bad about sending timely responses to texts or answering the phone when called. 

Agron pulls himself out of bed and makes his way to the shower. He’s decided to clean himself up and then drive to the Rahim house to see if Nasir would be up for walking around downtown or going to see a movie. Something fun. Something normal. Something outside of a hospital or a household. 

By the time Agron gets out of the shower, Duro is in his room, laying on his bed and looking at his phone, clearly waiting for his brother. 

Agron hadn’t missed his bed all that much but he did miss this- finding Duro in his room or barging into the younger brothers room whenever to talk or ask if he wanted food or something. 

“Get off my bed,” Agron says with mock annoyance, but upon realizing it’s his phone that Duro is messing with the annoyance turns a little less mock, “And how do you know my phone password?!” Duro easily lets Agron snatch the phone away from his hands and sits up. “You have your own damn phone, Duro! Why don’t you use that?”

There’s no real anger behind Agron’s words but it still strikes Duro how much he’s missed arguing with his big brother. He understands why Agron is never around, but that doesn’t mean he also doesn’t miss having his brother around. 

“But looking through your phone is so much more fun,” Duro replies cheekily, adding in his best shit-eating grin. “I already know what’s on my phone. Your’s is just full of surprises.”

Agron huffs and rolls his eyes but there’s no feeling behind it. Sure, Duro can drive Agron absolutely insane, but Agron has also missed not being around his brother as much as he’s used to.

“I was going to see if Nasir wanted to see a movie or walk around do you want to call Kore? We could make it a double date kind of thing.” Now that Nasir is doing better Agron makes a promise to spend more time with Duro. Nasir and Duro are good friends, and Agron is sure Nasir won’t mind at all if they start all hanging out together. It may even do the smaller man some good to be around more people on a regular basis that isn’t just Agron. 

Duro pulls out his own phone and shoots a text off to his girlfriend and within seconds she’s replied that she’s free and looking forward to hanging out with Agron and Nasir again.

The brothers take their sweet time after they make their plans, languidly eating and chit chatting in Agron’s room as he pulls on jeans and a simple t-shirt and then talking more in Duro’s room as he changes. There’s no hurry to get around and Kore has requested some time to shower and get ready. 

After an hour or so of lounging around the house, the boys pile into Agron’s truck and swing by Kore’s house first.

Nasir still hasn’t responded to Agron’s text or call but Agron doesn’t let himself think about it too much. He’s probably spending some quality family time and has set his phone aside. Or he could even still be sleeping- Agron wouldn’t blame him. Nasir deserves the sleep. 

So after they pick up Kore they drive to the Rahim house, figuring Nasir is safely inside and they’ll show up and drag him out to have fun with them. But Nasir isn’t home.

All three teenagers walk up to the front door and, after Agron knocks a few times, they’re greeted by Mrs. Rahim. Her face goes from welcoming to shockingly pale in the blink of an eye upon realizing who’s at her door. And who isn’t.

Mrs. Rahim locks eyes with him and Agron instantly feels a cold dread seeping through his body. With six little words Agron feels all of the ease and joy of the past 24 hours snatched away. 

“I thought he was with you.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Varro knows he should’ve called the Rahims a long time ago. He should’ve alerted every news media that operates in this country, shouted the news from rooftops. Training should’ve prepared him better for a situation like this but honestly this is the most overwhelmed he’s ever been in his entire life. 

There’s a second killer. 

The shock sent him for a loop. When Nasir had gotten in his car the cop could barely get a word out of him. He was handed a disk and some instinctive part of himself knew that this little piece of plastic held something gigantic. 

The ride back to his house had been mostly silent. Varro had tried to ask questions to prepare for what he was sure was going to be mentally and physically exhausting, but all he had gotten were ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers if he even got answers at all. Nasir sat straight up in his seat and stared straight ahead the entire time. Varro didn't think he seemed particularly scared he just seemed... vacant. As if the shell of Nasir had climbed into his car instead of the man himself. 

When they had arrived back at his home, Varro wasted no time in plopping Nasir down on the sofa and putting the DVD in. 

Varro is pretty sure that it’s possible for a stomach to actually move and twist inside a body until it is a literal mess of muscle and guts and knots. 

It’s one thing to hear a person recount the torture they’ve endured. It’s a whole nother experience to watch it. To watch as someone smiles and even laughs as they put another human being through a literal hell on earth. 

Then the camera moves. It pans around and zooms in so Varro has a better view of Nasir’s face, twisted in pain as he’s hurt again and again. 

It’s like watching a train wreck or a plane crash. It’s horrible and disturbing but also impossible to turn away from. Varro is rooted where he stands. He’s watching something he doesn’t even want to see because his brain has forgotten how to move his legs forward so he can shut the TV off. It’s forgotten how to move his hands so he could just use the remote in his grasp to make the images stop. It’s forgotten how to process information like his surroundings because the images it’s presented with as so terrible that it retreats in on itself, like a scared animal cowering from a cruel owner. 

Nasir is crying. Sobbing. That’s what wakes the cop up from the daze. The TV is turned off and he’s dealing with a nearly hysterical boy who curls up on the couch, bring his knees to his chest and hides his face in his arms. 

Nasir has a full blown panic attack. A screaming, crying, clawing at his skin, wretching, aching panic attack. It goes on for hours. Just when Varro thinks it may be over something new starts. At one point the young man is pacing in front of him talking about dropping everything and leaving this life behind so the second killer can never find him and his family can go on with their lives and the next he’s in a corner bawling and shaking so violently that Varro is genuinely concerned that he may vibrate out of his skin. 

He manages to shoot a text off to his police captain at some point and let him know about the new evidence that’s surfaced. Four police officers show up just moments later to make sure both Varro and Nasir are well protected. Varro’s captain is not far behind. 

Another officer takes over looking after Nasir as Varro and Captain step into another room to discuss and watch the DVD. Captain Barca doesn't want or need to watch very much to get the point the video is trying to make. 

They talk for quite awhile about what to do next. How to proceed in a way that protects Nasir’s privacy but also let’s the public know that there’s still another very bad person roaming free that’s responsible for hurting teenagers. 

Captain Barca asks about Nasir’s parents. It’s not the first time Varro thought to contact them but each time he mentioned it Nasir had vehemently refused to tell them anything until after he’d calmed down a bit. Mentioning the Rahim’s had been the only times he’d truly gotten responses from Nasir in the past few hours. 

Varro thinks he gets it. Nasir, even shocked and broken as his is now, is still trying to protect those closest to him. If Varro had children he’d never want to witness them in the state Nasir was in. Even without being related to Nasir, his complete mental collapse would be something the cop would never forget. It would haunt him for eternity to watch someone break so completely. He wanted to keep parents from having to witness that from their son. 

After another hour Nasir begins to breathe normally again. The hospital psychiatrist that Nasir has been seeing for months is brought in and she helps him calm down.  
Varro silently wishes he'd called her hours ago. 

Nasir is ready for his parents to be called and without even knowing what he’s going to say, Varro dials the Rahim’s number and puts the phone to his ear.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I thought he was with you.”

As the final words leave her mouth the phone rings from inside the house and Mrs. Rahim runs inside, praying that this caller has information about her missing son. 

She’s trailed by three anxious teenagers who are now in want of answers as to where their friend could possibly be.

All of them are thinking that this can’t be happening again. 

The words being spoken into Mrs. Rahim’s ear are loud enough that Agron can pick up bits here and there. He recognizes the voice on the other end of the line. It’s the cop. The one who stayed with the family while Thomas Horn was being hunted.

The conversation between cop and mother is quick and within a minute the phone has been hung up and the teenagers are now trailing the nervous older woman back out of the house. 

“Get in the car. I’ll fill you in on the way there,” she says over her shoulder as the four of them walk outside towards the black SUV in the driveway. 

Agron aches all over. 

Whatever has happened obviously isn’t good. Nasir is hurting and Agron doesn’t know if he can bare to hear about Nasir’s pain again. He wants Nasir to be healthy and happy. He wants them to have a life together. He wants to be free of pain and suffering. 

But things are made to be broken. Life breaks people every day. Some cracks are worse than others. Some take longer than others to mend. You have to pick yourself back up and put yourself together again and let the people who love you help as you piece yourself back together. Sometimes you lose slivers of yourself here and there but, ultimately, you mend enough to move forward. 

What if this time Nasir can’t move forward? What if he’s been so broken that no amount of glue could ever put the tiny sections back together? 

Agron wants to believe that Nasir will be okay. He wants Nasir to be better than okay; to forget all that has happened and have the wonderful life that someone as amazing as him deserves. 

But in that moment, as they walk towards the car, Agron wonders if both Nasir and himself are so broken that there is no chance of repair.


End file.
